Dovetail method of cabinet construction



Feb. 13, 1962 G. M. MITCHELL DOVETAIL METHOD OF CABINET CONSTRUCTION Filed Dec. 17, 1959 INVENTOR GEORGE M. MITCHELL ZJMQ AT RNEY.

United States Patent 3,021,187 DOVETAIL METHOD OF CABINET CONSTRUCTION George M. Mitchell, 25 Alicia Court, Hempstead, N.Y. Filed Dec. 17, 1959, Ser. No. 860,160 1 Claim. (Cl. 312-457) This invention relates to a dovetailed cabinet construction.

The invention applies to the cabinet-making art gen erally and to such diverse articles of furniture as chests of drawers, hutch cabinets, bookcases, desks, radio, television, phonograph and record cabinets, sliding door cabinets and many other products of the cabinet-makers art. 'Also included in the scope of the invention are various permanently installed cabinets, kitchen cabinets and the like. An important application of the invention is in the field of unassembled or do-it-yourself furniture.

An essential problem in all forms of cabinet making is the joinder of component parts such as side walls, back walls, frames, shelves and other furniture components. Conventional joinder means include rabbeting, interrupted dovetailing, mitering, doweling, joining by mortise and tenon and the like. Nails, screws, glue and other fastening means are extensively used. These methods are time-honored and each has its own special advantages and disadvantages.

It is the object of this invention to provide a dovetail type of cabinet construction in which the several dovetailed components interlock each other so that only the last assembled component requires other fastening means to hold it in place.

By way of illustration, a simple bookcase made in accordance with the present method would consist of two side walls, a plurality of shelves and a top all dovetailed together, and a back walldovetailed into engagement with the side walls. To prevent the back wall from slipping out of place, glueor nails would be used to hold it in place on the two side walls with which it is engaged. It is also within the scope of the invention to glue or nail or otherwise permanently secure all of. the dovetailed joints but this is not essential. It sufiices if only the last component is so secured.

The foregoing procedure not only produces a superior product but it also makes for mass production of all kinds of cabinets and the like. Not only is it possible to produce the component parts by mass production methods but even assembly may be achieved in this manner. There is a consequent saving in labor and other costs.

The invention is particularly advantageous in connec tion with the do-it-yourself trade. Unassembled cabinets and other articles of furniture are usually quite complicated in structure and difficult for the average person to assemble. Cabinets made in accordance with the present invention may very readily be assembled by simply slipping several dovetailed parts into engagement with each other and then securing the final dovetailed part by nailing or gluing it in place. An operation that otherwise might take hours can now be accomplished by the most unskilled in minutes.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cabinet embodying the principles of this invention, the front frame of said cabinet being shown in partly assembled position.

FIG. 2 is a vertical section through said cabinet on the line 22 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a horizontal section through one of the shelves in said cabinet viewed on the line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is another vertical section taken on the line 4-4 of FIG. 2

Cabinet 10 shown in' the drawing consists of the follow! ing major component parts: a pair of side walls 12 and 14, a back wall 16, a pair of shelves 18 and 20, a top wall 22 and a front frame 24. As will shortlybeseen, each of these parts is provided with dovetailed means for securing it to its adjacent parts. i

The two side walls are each dovetailed as follows: a vertical dovetail-shaped mortise 26 formed adjacent the back edge of the wall on the side facing the opposite wall, a vertical dove-tail-shaped tenon 28 formed along the front edge, and three horizontal dovetail-shaped mortise cavities 30, 32 and 34 respectively, saidcavities being also formed on the ,side facing the opposite side wall. The back Wall 16 is provided with vertical dovetail-shaped tenons 36 and 38, respectively, along both side edges. The front frame 24 is provided with a pair of vertical dovetail-shaped mortise cavities 40 and 42- adjacent both side edges thereof, on the side facing the back wall. The two shelves 18 and 20 and the top wall 22 are each provided along their-side edges with a pair of dovetail-shaped tenons 44 and 46. i l To assemble the foregoing components, the following steps should be taken, although not necessarily in the precise order given: The shelves 18 and 20 and top wall 22 are brought into engagement with side walls 12 and 14 by inserting the dovetail-shaped tensions 44 and 46 into the dovetail-shaped mortise cavities 30, 32 and 34. The shelves, top wall and side walls are now assembled. The next step is to bring the back wall 16 into engagement with the two sidewalls and this is done by inserting the dovetail-shaped tenons 36 and 38 into the dovetail-shaped mortise cavities 26. The final step involves engagingthe front frame 24 with the two side walls 12 and 14 and this is achieved by inserting the dovetail-shaped tenons 28 into the dovetail-shapedmortisecavities 40 and 42. p

It will now be observed that the two shelves and top wall are securely locked in place, being unable to slip rearwardly out of theside walls by reason of the back wall and being unable to'slip forwardly out of the side walls by reason of the frontframe. Glue may of course be used in the dovetail joints between the two shelves and top wall on the one hand and the two side walls on the other hand. As has above been indicated, this is not essential but, if desired, it may be done to achieve a more rigid structure. Glue may also be used in the dovetail joints between the side walls on the one hand and the back wall and front frame on the other hand. This will also assist in producing a more rigid result and will also prevent the back wall and front frame from sliding vertically relative to the side walls. Nails or other conventional fastening means may be used. in place of glue.

Other components may also be included in the assembly above described. For example, a crosspiece 50 may be incorporated into the unit below bottom shelf 18 and against the back wall 16. This crosspiece may be provided with a pair of dovetail-shaped tenons 52 at its end, these tenons being adapted to mate with a pair of dovetail-shaped mortise cavities 54 formed in the side walls 12 and 14.

A similar crosspiece 56 may be incorporated into the top of the cabinet immediately below top wall 22 and against the inside of back wall 16. Crosspiece 56 is also provided with a pair of dovetail-shaped tenons 58 at its respective ends and these tenons are engageable with a complementary pair of dovetail-shaped mortise cavities 60 formed in the side walls. As is true of the other parts of the assembly, these crosspieces may be glued into place. It will be observed that when the upper crosspiece 56 is incorporated into the assembly, it is locked in place by top wall 22, this being another illustration of how dovetail joined components may be interlocked in accordance with the principles of this invention. Crosspieces 50 and 56 may be employed in connection with supporting the cabinet on a vertical structure such as a kitchen wall.

The foregoing is illustrative of one form of the invention and it will -be understood that the basic principles applied therein may be utilized in connection with many other types of cabinets and articles of furniture of one kind or another. As will be above observed, there are two essential principles in the present invention and these principles may be widely applied. The first principle is the use of continuous dovetails to join component parts of a cabinet or other article of furniture. Each of the dovetails shown in the drawing is a continuous dovetail except-where possibly it may be intersected by another dovetail. The second principle is the use of one component part to lock another component part in place, this being achieved'between parts which are not joined by dovetails to each other. Two illustrations are given in the drawing, one being the front frame preventing forward dislodgment of the two shelves and top wall' and the other being the back wall preventing rearward dislodgment of the two shelves and top wall. Neither the front frame nor the back wall is in dovetail engagement with the shelves and top wall. The interlocking relationship exists by reason of the fact that the front frame and back wall are dovetailed to the two side walls and serve to block forward or rearward movement of the shelves and top wall. As will be understood from the foregoing, these two essential principles may be applied to many varieties of cabinets and furniture and the like.

I claim:

A cabinet construction of the character described, comprising a pair of side walls having a pair of dovetail grooves formed therein on their facing inner sides, said dovetail grooves extending vertically of said side walls and adjacent their respective back edges, a back wall having a pair of dovetail formations formed along its two side edges vertically thereof, said dovetail formations being in engagement with said dovetail grooves formed in the side walls, whereby the back wall and the side walls are secured together, a plurality of dovetail grooves formedin each of the side walls, on their facing inner sides," and extending horizontally thereof, there being at leastone such horizontal dovetail groove formed adjacent the upper edges of each said side wall, a second.

horizontal dovetail groove formed adjacent the lower edge of each said side wall, and a third horizontal dovetail groove formed on each said side wall intermediate said upper and lower horizontal grooves, a top wall having a pair of dovetail formations formed along its side edges, said dovetail formations of said top wall being in engagement with the upper dovetail grooves formed in said side walls, whereby the top wall is held in place on said side walls and forms the top of the cabinet, a bottom wall having a pair of dovetail formations formed along its side edges, said dovetail formations of the bottom wall being in engagement with the lower dovetail grooves of the side walls and said bottom wall and constituting the floor of the cabinet, an intermediate wall having a pair of dovetail formations formed along its side edges, said dovetail formations of said intermediate wall being in engagement with the intermediate dovetail grooves of said side walls, said intermediate wall constituting the shelf of the cabinet, a pair of dovetail formations formed along the front edges of said side walls, vertically thereof, and an open frame consisting of a pair of vertical side members and top and bottom horizontal members secured together, the side members of said frame having a pair of dovetail grooves formed therein, vertically thereof, said dovetail grooves of said side members of the frame being in engagement with the dovetail formations on the front edges of the side walls, whereby said frame is secured to said side walls and forms the front facing of said cabinet, said side members of said frame extending partially across the top, bottom and intermediate walls of the cabinet and holding said walls in place within the cabinet, whereby all of the walls and said frame of said cabinet are in dovetail locking engagement with each other.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 298,821 Brolaski May 20, 1884 2,112,498 Lax Nov. 29, 1939 2,355,541 Lew Aug. 8, 1944 2,651,557 Kelly Sept. 8, 1953 2,801,895 Gass Aug. 6, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 330,420 France July 31, 1958 

